I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!

Roxanna stared at Luan for a few seconds in silence, almost as if she was hoping he would laugh and say he was only joking.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t joking at all.

He meant every word he had just said.

”Demon Fenrir? I... Calen and I actually went to its nest in the cursed forest. That’s why all the demon wolves that chased us never came back,” Roxanna said.

”I thought so,” Luan replied with a calm nod. ”That’s the most effective way to wipe out demon wolves.”

[No wonder Calen immediately thought about the Demon Fenrir when I suggested finding a predator stronger than the demon wolves,] Roxanna thought.

[Well, it worked out in the end, because it helped me finish the side mission more easily.]

Luan narrowed his eyes slightly. He also wanted to be someone who helped Roxanna complete her missions.

”How did you find out about this?” Roxanna asked with curiosity.

She still didn’t know anything about Luan’s past, but she was sure of one thing: He didn’t act like someone who had been a slave before coming here, unlike Calen.

It wasn’t because he behaved obediently. In fact, it was the opposite.

He didn’t try to rebel, but he also didn’t behave like someone broken by years of slavery. Instead, he carried a calm, almost indifferent air, as though nothing in the future really mattered to him anymore.

Even his silence was different from Zeir’s or Cyrus’s. With Luan, it felt like something inside him had already gone numb.

He had said many times that he hated the evil Roxanna and wanted to kill her, but it always sounded more like a threat than a real intention, as if whether he managed to kill her or not didn’t really matter to him.

It was as if he no longer thought about the future at all.

More importantly, he never lowered his gaze when speaking to others. His stare always stayed locked in place, like a predator watching prey, and no true slave would ever dare behave so boldly.

Roxanna could tell he had once been a leader once. Maybe he belonged to a small group, or perhaps even a tribe.

”It happened because my brother once killed a dark-type demon beast. When he accidentally brought the Black Demon Crystal near other demon beasts, they immediately ran away,” Luan explained. ”I don’t really understand how it works either, but maybe the aura it gives off scares them, or the Black Crystal releases a scent they hate.”

Roxanna could clearly understand Luan’s explanation, but there was one thing that instantly caught her attention. ”You have... a brother?”

Luan nodded without hesitation. ”I used to have an older brother. His name was Luno. He was very strong, stronger than me, at least back then. That’s why people chose him to lead our tribe.”

Because he kept speaking in the past tense, Roxanna realized his brother was probably gone. Still, she gathered her courage and asked, ”What happened to him?”

”He died.” Luan didn’t look away from her, though his eyes turned darker. ”A huge Void suddenly appeared inside our tribe. It happened so fast that we couldn’t prepare. We had only spread the Black Crystal around the outside of the settlement, so when the Void appeared inside... it was useless.”

Roxanna held her breath and, before she could even think about it, she wrapped her arms around him, as if hugging him was the only way she could breathe.

”I’m sorry,” she whispered.

”Sorry for what?” Luan raised his eyebrows. But he didn’t push her away. He didn’t complain about the sudden hug either. ”You’re not the one who killed my brother.”

Roxanna answered softly, her voice small and gentle. ”That phrase doesn’t only mean guilt. Sometimes it means... I’m grieving too.”

”Why?” Luan asked in a flat tone. ”He wasn’t even your family.”

”But you’re my family now,” Roxanna said as she slowly stroked the back of his head, like she was comforting a big cat. ”So your family... is my family too.”

Luan fell silent for a long moment. The word ”family” still felt strange in his mind, because he had already accepted that he would never have one again after the demon beasts killed everyone he loved.

[I guess the one who looks the coldest on the outside is actually the one carrying the most nightmares.] Roxanna thought sadly. [My poor Luan. I should take better care of him from now on.]

Luan held his breath and froze the moment he heard Roxanna call him ”my Luan.”

My Luan!

He had finally earned that title after worrying endlessly for days.

If he acted a little more pitiful... would Roxanna feel even more sorry for him? Would she give him more of her attention?

Well... at least he had plenty of tragic stories to use, though that wasn’t really a good thing.

”Were you the only one who survived when your tribe was attacked by demon beasts?” Roxanna asked gently, before he could think of anything else.

”I’m actually not sure,” Luan replied, letting out a tired sigh. ”When the Void appeared in our settlement five years ago, my brother told me to run. But honestly... I didn’t go very far.”

He had hidden near the settlement, watching as the demon beasts tore apart his brother and the other warriors.

”Maybe some of them managed to escape too.” Luan turned his gaze away, refusing to look at Roxanna directly.

Then he spoke faster, as if he wanted the conversation to end. ”But because everyone panicked, we probably scattered in different directions. So I ended up wandering alone like a nomad until I was suddenly attacked by a demon beast, and Loba brought me here.”

At first, Luan had planned to sound pitiful to gain her sympathy, but now that he had actually told such a sad story about himself, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

What if Roxanna thought he was too pathetic? What if she felt disgusted if he cried?

So in the end, Luan didn’t want to continue the topic anymore.

But to his surprise, when he finally looked back at Roxanna, she was already crying.